Tweet
SPORTS WAGERS
HOUSTON -13 over L.A. Lakers
The Lakers have played two road games. They lost in Golden State by 29 and followed that up with a 19-point road loss in Dallas. Mike D'Antoni has the Lakers playing his gunning way by launching triples, spacing the floor and playing up-tempo basketball. That’ll work and has worked at home in two games but this is a hodgepodge Lakers roster that is going to get buried on many nights and the Rockets will show no mercy here.
Things are going exactly as planned in Houston. James Harden looks like the best shooting guard in the league. Dwight Howard is playing with a gigantic chip on his gigantic shoulders and rebounding everything in sight (career-high-tying 26 on opening night); and the Rockets are getting contributions not only from the likes of Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons but also Francisco Garcia, who has made 14-of-28 three-pointers. Every player on this Rockets’ team knows precisely what Howard is feeling. No words need be spoken. Howard wants to stick it to this team so badly that it hurts. The guy is going to be a maniac out there tonight with more focus and determination than he’s had in a long time. Howard hates the Lakers, he hates D’Antoni and every one of his teammates knows how important this game is it too him. Only a 15 to 30 point win will satisfy Howard and the Rockets and it says here they will get it.
Minnesota -½ +150 over WASHINGTON
Regulation only. A tie loses. This is either an alternative puck line wager or a three-way betting line wager and can be found at every book. We played against the Capitals on Tuesday upon their return home from a five-game trip and it didn’t work out well, as they defeated the Islanders 6-2. If a team isn’t flat in their first game back from a trip, they are often flat in the second game back. The Caps have now won three straight and have scored 16 goals over that stretch. However, this isn’t Philly, Florida or the Islanders with Evgeni Nabokov. That’s the three teams the Caps defeated but things get a whole lot tougher here.
The Wild have also won three straight and have scored four goals or more in all three. They’ve also won five of six with only loss occurring against the Blackhawks. Two days prior to that loss, they defeated the Blackhawks 5-3. There is no shame in splitting two games with Chicago. The Wild have an Eastern Conference-heavy schedule coming up, with eight of their next 11 against teams from the East and it all begins here. The Wild are well aware of this important stretch that could see them shoot up the West standings, as the West has dominated the East in the first 5½ weeks of the season. Minnesota is in peak form right now and they figure to be sharp again in this favorable spot.
Florida +237 over BOSTON
OT included. We have no interest in the Bruins right now and we especially have no interest in them laying 2½-1 in a game they may show up in body only. The Bruins have played a ton of big games over the past three years but this season they have taken some nights off. This is another one of those games in which Boston may just show up. One shootout victory and one shootout loss is all the Bruins have to show for their last five games and it's getting harder to produce consistent results with only one line producing offensively. Boston is not in good form right now. With a game in Toronto on deck Saturday on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, the Bruins could be caught sleepwalking through this game.
The Florida Panthers may be the least followed or least watched team in the NHL. They play to a ¾ empty arena on most nights and they have just one win over their past 10 games. So what is there to like about them? Well, for starters, five of the Panthers past seven games have gone to OT so any or all of those could have been wins instead of losses. They took Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Chicago to OT before falling in OT to Washington and Edmonton over their past two games. It’s not showing up in the win column yet but the Panthers are getting progressively better each week. They have a plethora of young talent that plays with energy and enthusiasm. The Panthers are not demoralized in any way. They are having fun out there and they appreciate where they are playing and the group that the organization has assembled. The Panthers are not pushovers and as a huge pooch they are going to offer value on many nights this season. This is one of those nights.
N.Y. Rangers +119 over COLUMBUS
OT included. After traveling extensively for well over a month (including the preseason) we highly doubt a back-to-back scenario is going to bother the Rangers. After a rough start, the Rangers look as sharp as anyone right now. They blew away the Penguins last night 5-1. New York has now won four of five with only loss over that span occurring against the red-hot Ducks. The Rangers have not allowed more than two goals against in eight straight games and that should bode well here against the offensively challenged Blue Jackets.
The Jackets were projected to be relevant this season but their losing ways have once again become contagious. Columbus is coming off back-to-back losses to the Penguins followed by a 4-1 loss to the then struggling Senators. In last weekend’s home and home series with Pittsburgh, Columbus scored two goals combined. Over their last three games, they have scored three goals. Bob Bobrovsky’s even-strength save percentage actually shows that his season last year was good-but-not-great. As it turns out, Bobrovsky has gone back to being the below average goaltender he’s always been. The most overrated player in the league, Jack Johnson (-8 this year), has ensured that Bobrovsky will not shine. Marian Gaborik is in the process of giving up the other half-step off his speed of old (to make it a full step), and after that we’re turning where for offense? R.J. Umberger? Ryan Callahan? Further down the depth chart to Jared Boll or Blake Comeau? This team had jacked expectations so far beyond reality that it’s almost laughable. The Jackets have less talent than any team in the NHL and should not be favored over the surging Rangers.
Pass NFL & NCAAF
HOUSTON -13 over L.A. Lakers
The Lakers have played two road games. They lost in Golden State by 29 and followed that up with a 19-point road loss in Dallas. Mike D'Antoni has the Lakers playing his gunning way by launching triples, spacing the floor and playing up-tempo basketball. That’ll work and has worked at home in two games but this is a hodgepodge Lakers roster that is going to get buried on many nights and the Rockets will show no mercy here.
Things are going exactly as planned in Houston. James Harden looks like the best shooting guard in the league. Dwight Howard is playing with a gigantic chip on his gigantic shoulders and rebounding everything in sight (career-high-tying 26 on opening night); and the Rockets are getting contributions not only from the likes of Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons but also Francisco Garcia, who has made 14-of-28 three-pointers. Every player on this Rockets’ team knows precisely what Howard is feeling. No words need be spoken. Howard wants to stick it to this team so badly that it hurts. The guy is going to be a maniac out there tonight with more focus and determination than he’s had in a long time. Howard hates the Lakers, he hates D’Antoni and every one of his teammates knows how important this game is it too him. Only a 15 to 30 point win will satisfy Howard and the Rockets and it says here they will get it.
Minnesota -½ +150 over WASHINGTON
Regulation only. A tie loses. This is either an alternative puck line wager or a three-way betting line wager and can be found at every book. We played against the Capitals on Tuesday upon their return home from a five-game trip and it didn’t work out well, as they defeated the Islanders 6-2. If a team isn’t flat in their first game back from a trip, they are often flat in the second game back. The Caps have now won three straight and have scored 16 goals over that stretch. However, this isn’t Philly, Florida or the Islanders with Evgeni Nabokov. That’s the three teams the Caps defeated but things get a whole lot tougher here.
The Wild have also won three straight and have scored four goals or more in all three. They’ve also won five of six with only loss occurring against the Blackhawks. Two days prior to that loss, they defeated the Blackhawks 5-3. There is no shame in splitting two games with Chicago. The Wild have an Eastern Conference-heavy schedule coming up, with eight of their next 11 against teams from the East and it all begins here. The Wild are well aware of this important stretch that could see them shoot up the West standings, as the West has dominated the East in the first 5½ weeks of the season. Minnesota is in peak form right now and they figure to be sharp again in this favorable spot.
Florida +237 over BOSTON
OT included. We have no interest in the Bruins right now and we especially have no interest in them laying 2½-1 in a game they may show up in body only. The Bruins have played a ton of big games over the past three years but this season they have taken some nights off. This is another one of those games in which Boston may just show up. One shootout victory and one shootout loss is all the Bruins have to show for their last five games and it's getting harder to produce consistent results with only one line producing offensively. Boston is not in good form right now. With a game in Toronto on deck Saturday on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, the Bruins could be caught sleepwalking through this game.
The Florida Panthers may be the least followed or least watched team in the NHL. They play to a ¾ empty arena on most nights and they have just one win over their past 10 games. So what is there to like about them? Well, for starters, five of the Panthers past seven games have gone to OT so any or all of those could have been wins instead of losses. They took Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Chicago to OT before falling in OT to Washington and Edmonton over their past two games. It’s not showing up in the win column yet but the Panthers are getting progressively better each week. They have a plethora of young talent that plays with energy and enthusiasm. The Panthers are not demoralized in any way. They are having fun out there and they appreciate where they are playing and the group that the organization has assembled. The Panthers are not pushovers and as a huge pooch they are going to offer value on many nights this season. This is one of those nights.
N.Y. Rangers +119 over COLUMBUS
OT included. After traveling extensively for well over a month (including the preseason) we highly doubt a back-to-back scenario is going to bother the Rangers. After a rough start, the Rangers look as sharp as anyone right now. They blew away the Penguins last night 5-1. New York has now won four of five with only loss over that span occurring against the red-hot Ducks. The Rangers have not allowed more than two goals against in eight straight games and that should bode well here against the offensively challenged Blue Jackets.
The Jackets were projected to be relevant this season but their losing ways have once again become contagious. Columbus is coming off back-to-back losses to the Penguins followed by a 4-1 loss to the then struggling Senators. In last weekend’s home and home series with Pittsburgh, Columbus scored two goals combined. Over their last three games, they have scored three goals. Bob Bobrovsky’s even-strength save percentage actually shows that his season last year was good-but-not-great. As it turns out, Bobrovsky has gone back to being the below average goaltender he’s always been. The most overrated player in the league, Jack Johnson (-8 this year), has ensured that Bobrovsky will not shine. Marian Gaborik is in the process of giving up the other half-step off his speed of old (to make it a full step), and after that we’re turning where for offense? R.J. Umberger? Ryan Callahan? Further down the depth chart to Jared Boll or Blake Comeau? This team had jacked expectations so far beyond reality that it’s almost laughable. The Jackets have less talent than any team in the NHL and should not be favored over the surging Rangers.
Pass NFL & NCAAF
Comment